Motorist that caused death a decade ago accused of more drug-driving

Brayden Bausch, now 33, killed a 73-year-old Woorndoo man in 2011 after taking his eyes off the road to pick up the second half of a sandwich.

He veered onto the wrong side of the road and caused a head-on collision which trapped both drivers.

Mr Bausch pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in Warrnambool Magistrates Court during November 2012 and was handed a 12-month jail sentence, which was suspended for two years.

The magistrate said at the time the young man had made a "momentary mistake which led to catastrophic consequences".

But in October 2023 The Standard reported the man lost his driver's licence for 15 months after he was clocked speeding and caught with meth in his system while driving a prime mover at Minhamite.

The man appeared in the same court on March 18, 2024, where he made a bail application.

He was arrested the day before about 8pm and charged with making threats to kill, discharging a missile to cause injury and resisting arrest.

Those charges relate to the man allegedly throwing his mobile phone at a woman during an argument. Police were called and were forced to deploy OC spray to arrest him.

Mr Bausch was arrested and subsequently remanded in custody because he was already on bail for allegedly threatening to burn down an 18-year-old girl's house because she didn't invite him to her birthday party.

The court heard the man was also on summons for more drug-driving offences.

A police prosecutor said the first allegation was from February 16 when Mr Bausch allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine and failed to keep a log book while driving a truck in Ararat.

Then on October 7, 2023, he allegedly crashed an unregistered motorcycle with a pillion passenger.

The prosecutor said Mr Bausch, who did not have a licence at the time, allegedly tested positive to the drug ice again.

She said he was charged with offences, including careless driving.

Lawyer Belinda Northey, representing Mr Bausch, said her client had struggled with his mental health since the 2012 incident and had not yet addressed those issues.

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge said he was concerned by the man's offending at the weekend, which occurred while he was already on bail for similar offending.

He said Mr Bausch had fallen "well short" of demonstrating exceptional circumstances why he should be released on bail.

The application was refused and Mr Bausch was remanded in custody to appear in court again on April 2, 2024.